Freedom Boat Club made its partnership with Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce official with a ribbon cutting June 23. The club on the Linekin Bay Resort shore is FBC’s fifth spot in Maine – alongside Yarmouth, Portland, South Portland and Naples – and another among its over 285 locations across the U.S., Canada and France.

Yarmouth Boat Yard and Moose Landing Marina owner Steve Arnold established the Freedom Boat Club of Maine franchise in 2018 at his Yarmouth and Naples locations to start. Arnold said while he was skeptical of the concept at first, it proved successful, so he expanded to South Portland’s Sunset Marina, Portland’s Four Points Marina.

“In that short amount of time we’ve doubled in size and now have over 30 boats and are closing in on 300 members,” said Arnold. “Our goal has always been to help people enjoy more time on the water. Freedom Boat Club offers an alternative for people who love the boating lifestyle, but don’t want to deal with the cleaning, maintenance or repairs.”

The club’s presence at the resort has already been successful, said LBR co-owner Scott Larson. The fleet is starting with two boats for this year, but as demand increases over the next few years, more boats will join, he said.

“It's been great since they have been here, we've been able to get folks to eat at our restaurant and sold many rooms to members looking to reserve a boat from (the club). Having (it) here is such a perfect marriage of our waterfront activities, and the sports that we promote here, and what they do.”